


Dangerous Liaisons

by BrightStarr



Category: Adam Lambert (Musician)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-12
Updated: 2019-06-02
Packaged: 2019-07-30 00:28:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 8
Words: 15,606
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16275461
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BrightStarr/pseuds/BrightStarr
Summary: Adam Lambert meets the man that might be the love of his life.





	1. Adoring Fan

Chapter 1

 

Arthur was putting gas in his tank. He hadn’t gone out in three weeks. It was three weeks since his breakup with his first girlfriend, Maya. Tonight, he wanted to dance and have a good time, although he was alone. It was a bright night in LA. On this Friday night, most people were out at the club. That was where Arthur was going tonight. He’d met two celebrities in person so far, Sam Smith and Selena Gomez. He’d only met them once, though, because they didn’t live here and most of the time, they were on tour. He was thirty years old, and he’d lived with his mother until he was twenty-eight. He had a good job, so he could get his own place, but he didn’t want to leave his mother by herself. He was an only child, and his father had died fifteen years before. His mother had died of cancer two years before. Arthur went into the gas station and bought a pack of M&M’s. Then, he got into his car and left the gas station.

Forty-five minutes later, Arthur arrived at the club. The song “Side Effects” by the Chainsmokers and Emily Warren was playing. He went and ordered a drink. Singer Adam Lambert was behind him. A few minutes later, he got his drink, and Adam went to order his drink. Adam went to the dance floor and started dancing by himself. Arthur was observing him. All this time, Arthur had thought Adam had a boyfriend and nobody knew about it, but he discovered he was wrong. Adam hadn’t had a boyfriend in over five years. Arthur got up, went to the dance floor and went up to Adam. Adam had been his idol since 2009. Arthur didn’t live in LA. He lived in Boston, but he was here for his three-day vacation. “Hi, Adam,” he said, jumping like a little kid and screaming on the inside.

Adam smiled. “Hello. How are you doing?”

Arthur just stood there and smiled like an idiot. After a good ten minutes, he said, “May I take a selfie with you?”

Adam said, “Sure.” 

They got out of the dance floor and went to the outside of the club, a few steps from where the security guard was standing. Arthur got his phone and took the selfie. Adam had never smiled brighter, thinking, “Who is this scorching-hot dude?”

“Thank you. May I share it on my Instagram? This has always been my dream.”

Adam said, “I don’t see why not. Hey, do you live here?”

“No. I live in Boston. I’m only going to be here for three days.”

“That’s a shame. I wanted to get to know you and maybe go out.” He said, gnashing his teeth, “I’m sick of meeting guys only to have them leave a few days later, and I never see them again.”

“I’m sorry.”

Adam didn’t realize what he’d just said. His subconscious had betrayed him. “Sorry about what?”

“You just said you were sick of meeting guys, having them leave a few days later, and never seeing them again.”

Adam’s eyes widened. “I said that? Don’t worry about it.”

“I feel like I’m reading your thoughts.”

“No. I didn’t think it. I actually said it. It’s okay.” Adam was going to go back into the club, but Arthur took his hand and stopped him.

Arthur said, “If you want, we can go to a quieter place and talk.”

“For what, to have you leave? No, thanks. I’ll be okay.”

“You won’t leave? What about your job, your family?”

“I have no family. It doesn’t matter. I can get another job here. I just don’t want you to feel alone, you know? You’re my idol, and I would do anything for you.”

Adam smiled again. “That’s sweet. Yes, I would like to go somewhere and talk, but the only place we can go is my friend’s house. Everywhere is closed.”

“Let’s go there, then.”

Adam and Arthur went to the house of Adam’s best friend, Dorian. Dorian was sleeping in his room, and he’d left his door unlocked for Adam to go in. Adam was actually living with him. Adam had just lost his house after being a victim of blackmail, and now he had to come up with a couple of million dollars to get another house. He’d only been staying with Dorian for a week. “I would introduce you to Dorian, but he’s sleeping.”

“This is a nice house,” Arthur said.

“My music and acting career might be over. You see, I lost my house because this woman blackmailed me. I don’t know how she did it, but she recorded me having sex with another guy, and threatened to upload the video to a porn website if I didn’t give her my house.”

“This woman is fooling you. If she never went into your house, there’s no way she could’ve recorded you with a guy.”

“That’s what I’m thinking.”

“Has she shown you the video?”

“Yes, and I must’ve been drunk that night because I don’t remember the room or the guy. I always remember who I sleep with, but that guy…”  
“This woman is scamming you. Maybe it’s not you on the tape, but a random look alike.”

“There’s no man out there that looks exactly like me. I’ve seen a few guys on the internet that look like me, but there are certain features they don’t have of mine, like my tattoos, my freckles--unless it’s an identical twin, which I don’t have, no one looks like me 100%.”

“Wait a minute. Did you see any of your tattoos on the video?”

Adam had a flashback of the moment he saw the video. “No. I didn’t see any of my tattoos. The guy in the video had tattoos, but they were completely different. Oh, my god, I’ve been scammed.”

“I’m thinking maybe you had a twin and the nurse or the doctor made your parents believe he’d been born dead, and that nurse raised that baby as her own. Thirty-six years later, you see your twin on a porn video. Maybe your twin is a porn star.”

“Oh, my god, that’s right. What I don’t understand is why my parents didn’t tell me anything about my twin. I have to call my mom.”

 

* * * *

 

Leila, Adam’s mother, was sleeping when her phone rang. Her new husband woke her up. “Pick up the phone. It’s Adam.”

Leila answered the phone. “Honey, you never call this late,” she said. “Are you okay?”

“I need to ask you something, Mom. Do I have a twin?”

“Oh, Adam, this is not something to discuss on the phone, honey.”

“I do, don’t I?”

Shedding tears, Leila said, “You did, but he didn’t make it. He died three hours after being born.”

“Mom, what if I showed you a video of him?”

“What? No, that can’t be, Adam. He died.”

“Mom, I have proof that he’s alive. I lost my house because of him. Somebody used a porn movie of his to take my house away from me. I’m homeless.”

“What are you talking about? Porn movie? I thought you were talking about a music video!”

“No, Mom, he’s not a singer. He might be a porn star.”

Leila started crying really hard. “No, it can’t be what you’re telling me. My son can’t be a porn star!”

The line went dead. Adam said, “Mom? Mom? Oh, my god!” He called 911 and sent them to Leila’s house.

 

* * * *

 

The paramedics went to Leila’s house. It turned out that she was fine. She had just dropped the phone, but she couldn’t stop crying. Adam called again, talked to her for a few minutes and calmed her down, and the paramedics left her house.

 

* * * *

A few hours later, Dorian, Adam, and Arthur were having breakfast in the dining room. 

Dorian said, “Now the challenge is finding that porn video. You know guys, I don’t think Adam’s twin is a porn star. Maybe this woman recorded him having sex with a guy and used that tape to blackmail Adam. This whole scheme is just atrocious. We have to get to the bottom of the truth.”

Adam said, “I can’t believe I have a twin somewhere out there. This whole thing is just hurtful. I want to talk to him and ask him who raised him and why he’s been so far away from us all this time.” 

Adam’s phone went off. Someone was texting him. It was the woman who was blackmailing him, Milena Williams. The text read, Help. I have your twin brother threatening me over the phone. He knows I have this video of him and I used it to blackmail you. I will give you your house back. Just get Edward off my back, please. He’s demanding I destroy the video, I gave it to someone else, and that person disappeared. Please. I don’t know what to do. You don’t know who I’m messing with. Edward is dangerous.

Adam wrote back, I don’t know how to contact Edward. I don’t know his last name. Up until last night, I didn’t even know he existed. What do you expect me to do? Unless he contacts me, I can’t do anything. You’re the one that made this mess. Clean it up.

 

* * * *

 

Adam was eating lunch at Dorian’s house while Arthur was taking a nap in Dorian’s guest room. He got a twitter notification. Someone named Edward Greene had tweeted to him. The tweet read, “@adamlambert, please follow me back so we can talk on the direct messages. I really need to talk to you.”

Just out of curiosity, Adam clicked on the link and visited Edward Greene’s twitter page just to follow him back. If something went wrong, he could just block him, so it wasn’t a big deal. Edward sent Adam a direct message immediately. “Milena was my best friend and she betrayed me. She recorded me on compromising situations, and I see she used that video to take your house away. I am so sorry. I will get your house back for you. I’ll do whatever I have to do.”

Adam wrote, “In order to get the house back, you’d have to buy it from her, and you don’t have that kind of money.”

Edward wrote, “I don’t have to buy anything. I can prove she’s been blackmailing both of us. I have her text messages. You should show police her text messages to you, too.”

Adam wrote, “She was smart. She just started texting me.”

Edward wrote, “She was not so smart because she texted me.” Edward had an evil plan in motion. Milena would regret meeting him.


	2. Brothers Meet

Edward was talking to Adam on the phone a few days later. “I heard you told my biological mother that I could be a porn star and she almost died.”

“That’s true. I don’t know what I was thinking.”

“You know, I’d never become a singer because I don’t have the voice for it, but I would never be a porn star. I want to meet the love of my life someday, marry him, and start a family.”

“So, you’re gay, too? I thought you were experimenting.”

“No, I’m gay. We’re identical twins, so of course both of us are gay.”

“I’ve known twins in which one is gay and one is straight.”

“That only happens if twins are fraternal, Adam.”

“So, the Smith twins that I met--”

“The one that told you he was straight obviously lied. It’s impossible for identical twins to have different sexual orientations.”

“Maybe he was lying to himself thinking he was straight. Poor guy. I don’t want to be in his shoes.”

“I have to go. Take care.”

“Thank you for calling me. Want to have lunch together sometime at my house?”

“You’re inviting me to your mansion?”

“Yeah. You’re my twin, and I’d like to get to know you better. I thought I might start by inviting you into my home.”

“That’s great. OK, I can have lunch with you Friday. Friday is my day off.”

“You never told me what you do.”

“I am the CEO of Rainbow Records.”

“You have your own record label?”

“No, the company’s not mine, but the creator made me CEO.”

“Really? What a nice guy!”

“Yeah, he’s my father’s best friend, and he trusted his company to me because he’s eighty-one years old and he can’t work anymore.”

“OK, your father’s best friend, that makes sense. Do you have any pets?”

“Yes. I have a pitbull named Caesar. I know your dog’s name is Pharaoh. I have all his pictures on my phone. I’ve been following your career since the beginning, and I have all your albums. At first I thought you were just a look-alike, but my mother told me three years ago you’re actually my twin.”

“I’m going to let you go because if I don’t, we’re just going to keep talking.”

“We’re off to a great start, Adam.”

“Bye, Edward.” Adam hung up.

 

* * * *

 

A few days later, Edward arrived at Adam’s house with his dog, Caesar. He thought it would be a good idea for the dogs to play together while he and Adam conversed. Edward and Caesar got out of the car, went to the front door, and Edward knocked. Adam opened the door and gave him a hug. When Pharaoh saw Edward, he kept looking at Adam and then at Edward repeatedly. Adam picked Pharaoh up and gave him a kiss. Pharaoh went to the living room to lie down on Adam’s sofa. Caesar followed him, and the dogs started playing right in the middle of the living room. Edward and Adam went to the dining room. Adam had ordered an extra-large pizza. He hadn’t eaten pizza in three years because he was vegan, but he thought Edward would like that. Adam had a salad to eat.

Edward laughed. “You’re just going to let me eat this pizza by myself?”

“You can’t eat it all in one sitting, but you can have a couple slices and take the rest home and eat it slowly. It looks delicious, honestly, but I’m not eating that.”

“You used to love it. I’ve seen pictures of you eating pizza.”

“From like ten years ago, right? Yeah, back then I would eat a lot of pizza, but you know, I’m thirty-six, and with every year that goes by, it gets harder for me to lose weight, and I don’t want to get fat, you know? In the music industry, you’re not allowed to be fat. You gain a few pounds and people start talking shit, and you start selling less and less records.”

“Not that it would make a difference in your case,” Edward said, taking the first bite of his first slice of pizza. “Fat or skinny, you’d still be gorgeous.”

“You, too.”

“I eat what I want and then work out like crazy. I eat small portions, and I run five miles every morning and go to the gym every day after work.”

“Small portions? Oops. Each slice of that pizza is colossal.”

“I can have a slice, have some water, and not eat anything else until dinner time. At dinner time, I can have another slice of pizza. I wouldn’t want the pizza to get old.”

“Dad’s been asking about you. He still can’t believe you’re alive. He asked me for your phone number, but I told him I couldn’t give your number to anyone without your permission. I promised him I’d talk to you about it today. He wants to visit you.”

“He’s welcome to visit me anytime. When I talk to him, I’m going to give him my address.” Edward’s phone rang. It was Milena. He took the call. “Do you have the video? Will you give it to me so I can destroy it? I swear to god, if that video winds up on the Internet--”

“Hear me out. I swear this person disappeared with it.”

“Really? Why don’t you tell me who the person is so I can hunt them down and pay him to give me the video? Why? Because you’re lying. Just tell me who has the video.”

“Greg Barnes.”

“Why would you give that video to someone else?”

“Because I was mad at you!”

“What did I ever do to you?” Edward yelled. “I’m the one who should be mad. If that video gets out, I’m going to lose everything, and then I’m going to kill you and spend the rest of my life in jail. Do you understand?”

Adam said, “Ed, give me the phone.”

Edward gave Adam the phone.

Adam said, “How much do you want for the video?”

“Adam,” Milena said, “you can’t just pay me for the video because I don’t have it!” She was crying now.

“Get it from whoever has it!”

“Greg Barnes won’t take my calls or reply to my emails!”

“Damn it, find him and get the video from him! Don’t you understand Edward could lose everything? He’s not going to have any more food on his table because of you.”

Milena said, “You could support him.”

 

Adam ground his teeth, made the strangling motion with his hands, and cut the call unintentionally. He threw the phone back at Edward. “Oops, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to give you an attitude.”

“I understand. I want to kill her, too.”

“She was right about one thing. I will support you if you lose your job, until you find a new one.”

“Thank you. Do me a favor. Search your name on porn sites.”

“My name?” Adam went to the first porn site on his phone. “OK.”

“If your phone gets viruses, I’ll get you a new one.”

“None of my phones have gotten viruses, but don’t worry about it.” Adam searched over fifty different porn sites and found no videos of Edward. Two hours later, he found the video on the fifty-first website. He immediately requested the video be taken down. Fortunately, no one had downloaded it and reposted it. That website did not allow videos to be downloaded, and to get in, customers had to pay a monthly fee of thirty dollars. The video was taken down five minutes later.

“For her own good, I hope she’s telling the truth about this Greg Barnes guy. If she just came up with that to throw me off, I swear, she’s not going to know what hit her. I’m nice and all, until the person disrespects me. Then, all bets are off.”

Greg Barnes called Edward that day when he was about to leave Adam’s house. Edward took the call even though he didn’t recognize the number. Greg said, “One million dollars for the video, paid first thing Monday morning.”

“Is that the only copy you got?”

“Money talks, Edward.”

“You’re mad because I found the video and got it taken down. I don’t have that kind of money, but I’ll get some help.”

“If you fuck me over, your dear twin brother will pay the consequences. He’s going to lose everything he has when his adoring fans see the video.”

“Adam’s fans are not stupid. They’re going to know it’s not him when they start looking for the tattoos.”

“You are about to find out what I’m capable of, Edward. Don’t fuck with me.”

“You’re the one who doesn’t know who he’s messing with, Greg. I will kill you and I don’t care if I go to prison for the rest of my life.”

“That’s if you find me, you idiot.”

 

“Trust me, you don’t want to play this game. I have resources. I am a powerful guy.”

“Give the phone to Adam. I know you’re with him. He just posted a picture of the two of you on his Instagram!”

“What do you want to talk to him for? He’s got nothing to do with this.”

“I just want to warn him that you’re dangerous. You’re not bluffing or threatening me in vain. You really don’t care about going to prison for the rest of your life. You’re evil to the core.”

“Don’t test me.” Edward hung up. He said goodbye to Adam and he and Caesar left Adam’s house a few minutes later.

 

Adam got a million comments on his Instagram picture of him and Edward. Most of his fans were asking Edward to give them his Instagram name so they could follow him, and many others asked him if he was a singer or an actor. Edward didn’t have an Instagram account, but he created a personal one and then wrote the name in the comments of his picture with Adam. In less than twelve hours, he got 300,000 followers and started posting the pictures of himself he had on his phone. He got many loving comments from his new fans. 

Adam called Edward that day. Edward took the call. Adam said, “How are you doing today? Pharaoh misses Caesar. He wants to play with him again. I’ve got a party going on tonight. I want to invite you.”

“I accept the invitation. Your fans are the best, man. I’ve got 300,000 followers, and my instagram account is not even a day old!”

“My fans already love you. Be here at nine.”

“I will be there. Am I allowed to take and post pictures and videos?”

“Adam Lambert’s twin can do anything he wants. I’ll see you later. I love you.”

“Can I get there a few minutes before the party starts? I want to talk to you about something, just you and me.”

“Sure.” Adam dropped his phone and the call dropped. He was doing the dishes and the phone fell on a pot filled with water and dish soap. “Oh, my God!” he screamed.

Pharaoh went to the kitchen, scared.

“You’re good, boy. Don’t worry. Everything’s okay.” Adam gave his boy a big hug and a kiss and let him go. He downloaded the Text Now app to his iPad that he always had in his room, set up an account, got a new number, and called Edward from the app.

 

Edward picked up the phone. “Hello.”

“It’s me.”

“How did you change numbers so fast?”

“I’m using the Text Now app on my iPad. My phone is ruined. I was doing the dishes while I was talking to you, and the phone fell on a pot full of soap and water.”

“I have a phone that I haven’t used in a while because I upgrade my iPhone every year, and I always sell my old phones on Let Go, but something told me to keep this old one, and I just upgraded. If you want, I can give you my old phone until you get a new one.”

“That’d be nice, Ed, because I can’t be without a phone. I’m going crazy right now.”

“Don’t worry. You’ll have a phone tonight. You can put your number on it, right?”

“Yeah, all I have to do is call Verizon. They’re open twenty-four hours.”

“I’ll see you a few minutes before the party starts. Be safe, man. I love you.”

“That’s so sweet.”

“It’s the truth. I’ve always loved you. You are the wonderful person I thought you were.” Edward hung up.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Justin, the object of Edward's affection, turns out to be worse than Edward imagined.

Edward arrived at Adam’s house that night, a half an hour before the party was supposed to start. Adam opened the door for him and gave him a hug. Edward handed Adam his old phone. It was exactly one year old and it looked like new because Edward took excellent care of his belongings. “Set it up. Put your number in there.”

“Not before you tell me what you want to tell me. That’s a lot more important than the phone. I can’t stop thinking about it. The look on your face, my god, what is wrong?”

“I’m thinking twice before asking you this.”

“You’re scaring me, Edward.”

“Greg is demanding one million dollars in exchange of the only copy of the porn video. You’re the only one that can let me borrow that kind of money. If I don’t give Greg that money, both of our lives will be ruined.”

“Write down your bank-account information for me.”

“You’re going to let me borrow it? I promise to pay you back.”

“You have twenty years to pay me back. I know you’re the CEO of a prestigious company, but you don’t have that kind of money to just dish out, so I am asking for five thousand dollars a month.”

“That sounds reasonable. I make about twenty thousand a month, so that’s not too hard to do. Thank you. You don’t understand. My life depends on this.”

“That’s why I’m lending you the money, Edward. Anyway, let’s continue to get ready for the party.” 

Adam called Verizon, spoke to a customer-service representative, and in a matter of minutes, transferred his number to Edward’s old phone, while Edward took a shower in one of the six bathrooms of the house and changed his clothes. Pharaoh and Caesar were playing in the living room. Edward hadn’t brought with him his own cologne, so he borrowed some of Adam’s. Adam went into the room. “You look stunning.”

“So do you.”

“Guess who I invited to the party? Milena’s son, Justin.”

Edward showed a bright, evil smile. “Excellent.”

“I think he and you would make a great couple.”

“Please. I’d never fall in love with him. My plan is to use him to get back at Milena and discard him like trash when I’m done with him. I’ve met him a couple of times and he’s a nice guy, but Milena needs to pay for making all this happen.”

“Is he gay?”

 

“I don’t think so. He’s never been with a man before.”

Adam grinned. “You are so cruel.”

“You have no idea. Whoever hurts me always pays dearly.”

 

* * * *

 

The party started. There was alcohol, but there were no drugs, not even the holy green. Adam didn’t know if Edward smoked it, so he wasn’t offering it at this particular party, and he didn’t know if Edward hated the smell, so it was best for Adam not to displease him. At another party, when Edward weren’t here, Adam knew he could smoke all the weed he wanted. 

Edward was drinking some wine in the kitchen, his favorite alcoholic drink. Adam went to the fridge and got a little bottle of tequila. Pharaoh was following him. Edward crouched and petted Pharaoh a little bit. The dog licked his hand and ran away. “Do you happen to have an old iPad or iPod I could use?”

“I have a used iPad, but it’s two years old, and right now, it’s in one of the boxes from the move, and I have no idea what box it’s in. Tomorrow I will look for it for you and you can have it for free.”

“Thanks.” Edward took another sip of wine.

“He’s here.”

“Who?”

“Your love interest. He just got here. I hear him laughing. Don’t you want to go make your move?”

“I would love to bang him, but like I said before, I don’t know if he’s gay, so it’s not going to be that easy. I have to earn his trust first.”

“Like that’s hard for you to do. You earned my trust. I invited you into my home.”

“I suppose I can go talk to him.” They got out of the kitchen.

Justin was in the living room. Pharaoh jumped up to get up on the sofa and lie down, but Justin kicked him. Caesar growled at Justin and jumped on him. Adam’s friends got Caesar off Justin before he could attack him. Pharaoh was crying and screaming. Justin had hurt his ribs. Caesar kept growling and gnashing his teeth at Justin. “I think I better leave. I’m not welcome here.” Justin got up.

Adam yelled. “Who hurt my dog?”

Edward yelled, “What?”

Kristina, one of Adam’s best friends, said, “Justin kicked Pharaoh.”

Edward gasped.

Adam grabbed Justin by the neck and punched his face in. “How could you hurt my dog, motherfucker?” he screamed.

Justin yelled, “I’m sorry! He wanted to lie down beside me, and I didn’t want to smell like dog!”

Adam punched Justin out again. “Get the fuck out of my house!” Justin was on the floor. “If you tell anyone about this, I swear I’ll beat the fuck out of you when I get out of jail, do you understand me?”

Caesar was lying down next to Pharaoh, caressing with his paw the rib where Justin had kicked him. Pharaoh had his tongue out, as a sign of feeling relief.

Justin walked out of the living room to leave, but just when he was about to go down some steps at the front of the house, Adam shoved him, and he tumbled down the stairs. 

Terrance said, “Adam, come on, you could kill him! He’s not worth you going to prison!”

Crying, Adam said, “No one gets away with hurting Pharaoh! Pharaoh came from an abusive home, and I’ll be damn if he gets hurt again!”

Justin sped away in his car.

 

* * * *

 

Edward called Justin. Justin was staying in a hotel room. He’d come to LA from Philadelphia to spend his vacation here.

Justin answered the phone. “Hello.”

“Are you okay?”

“Adam?”

“No, it’s Edward Greene. I thought mine and Adam’s voices were different.”

“Oh, yeah, now that I listen to you carefully, your voice is lower than his. I could be better. I decided to sleep this off because if I go get some medical attention, I’m going to have to report Adam, and you heard him. If he goes to prison because of me he’s going to beat me senseless when he gets out.”

“It was fucked up what you did, man. You shouldn’t have kicked Pharaoh. He’s a very sweet dog.”

“I don’t know what came over me, and I’m sorry for what I did. It was the first time I had ever hurt an animal. I was dumb, I know.”

“Do you want me to come visit you?”

“You can come visit me tomorrow. I’m going to be here for the next three weeks. I wouldn’t want you to leave the party. Adam could get mad at you.”

“Oh, the last thing I want to do is to get on Adam’s bad side.”

“I know.”

“I just wanted to make sure you were okay. If you want, I can take you to the hospital, and we can say a few thugs tried to rob you, but you couldn’t identify them. You can’t just sleep it off. What if you have some broken bones?”

“Yeah, you’re right.”

“Listen, I don’t condone what my brother did,” he lied, “but you must understand how protective he is of his loved ones. I would kill someone who’d hurt Caesar.”

“Speaking of your dog, he almost attacked me.”

“Because he loves Pharaoh. I have to go. Take care.” Edward hung up.

 

* * * *

 

The party was over five hours later. When Edward went to get Caesar to leave, Caesar and Pharaoh were lying down in the sofa where Pharaoh had gotten kicked. Adam went up to Edward and said, “Can you leave Caesar here and come pick him up tomorrow?”

Edward nodded.

“I’m sorry I ruined your plan.”

“You didn’t ruin anything. Justin wasn’t about to hook up with me tonight anyway. That’s going to take some time, but he’s going to be in my bed. Don’t you worry about it.”

“I had to teach him a lesson, you know?”

“I understand. I have to go. It was a good party, except Justin ruined it for you. What an asshole.”

“I had never had a problem at any of my parties before.”

“Unfortunately, there’s always a first time. Don’t invite Justin to your parties anymore. I’ll find other ways to get together with him.”

“He’s leaving in three weeks.”

“I might find a way to keep him from leaving.” Edward left Adam’s house and went to Justin’s hotel.

* * * *

Two hours later, Edward and Justin were conversing in Justin’s hotel room. Edward had ordered room service for both of them and paid for it. Right now, they were eating lasagna and drinking cappuccinos and having chocolate cake for dessert. Edward took a bite of his lasagna.

Justin asked, “Is Adam still mad at me?”

“Oh, yeah. He wants nothing to do with you. He said he wouldn’t invite you to his parties anymore. He doesn’t like animal abusers, he said.” Edward lied. Adam didn’t want anything to do with Justin, but he didn’t exactly say that.

“Why am I asking? I’m the one who should be mad at him! The way he beat the living shit outta me! I will never forgive him for that.”

“Dude, you kicked his dog. What did you expect, for him to tell you that it was okay?”

“Well, no, but I certainly didn’t expect him to beat me the way he did. He threw me down a stairwell, for God’s sake!”

“Forget about my brother. Let’s enjoy this dinner and talk about other things, OK?”

“What brother?” Justin took a sip of his cappuccino. “You just met him.”

“But he’s my brother, and I love him, OK? I was the only child in my household, and I never knew him before today. Besides, I’ve always been his fan.”

“OK, OK, I’m sorry. Don’t get pissed off at me, too.”

“Can I ask you a question?”

“You just did.”

Edward glared at him.

Justin grinned. “I’m kidding. Yes, ask me the question, but it’s up to me to answer.”

 

“Are you gay?”

“Eww, no, that’s disgusting. Why would you think that?”

“In case you haven’t noticed, I’m gay, so don’t say that in front of me, OK?”

“I’m just saying how I feel. It’s disgusting. My parents taught me to not engage into that deviant lifestyle.”

“You know what? You are not who I thought you were. I thought you were a nice guy, but it turns out that you’re an animal abuser, and you’re homophobic, and I really hate that. This is where I leave.” Edward walked out of the hotel room, leaving Justin stunned.


	4. Golden Opportunity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adam gets invited to do a movie.

Adam was in the living room, watching TV with Pharaoh. His phone rang. He muted the TV and answered the phone. He hadn’t heard from Edward in three days, so he thought Edward was in jail or in the hospital. “Adam Lambert.”

“I got great news. I won two million dollars in the lotto.”

“Edward?”

“That’s right. I can pay you back the money you gave me. Just give me a bank account to send it to.”

“I’ll text you that information, but you don’t have to pay me back right away. I only gave you the money four days ago.”

“This is the perfect opportunity, and I’m not going to waste it. I’m good at playing games and winning money. I’m a great poker player, and when I gamble, I win three out of five times. I haven’t gambled in fifteen years, though, but I’m good at this.”

“Can you come over? We need to talk.”

“What time do you want me there?”

“Whenever you can come over.”

“How about today at seven?”

“That sounds good. I’ll be waiting for you. I’m going to make you something nice to eat.”

“Spaghetti and meatballs would be great.”

“I haven’t cooked meat in a long time, but I’ll do it for you. Do you want anything special to drink?”

“I love wine.”

“Any specific brand?”

“No specific brand. I just love red wine. As long as it’s red…”

“You know I have enough money to get you the best wine. Remember to bring Caesar. Pharaoh loves him.”

“I will. I have to go. I’m at work. I just wanted you to know I struck gold.”

“I’ll see you at seven. I love you. Bye.” Adam hung up.

 

One hour later, while Adam was at the grocery store, buying the ingredients for tonight’s dinner, he got a text notification from his bank saying a one-million-dollar transfer was just made. He thought, He wasn’t kidding, and put his items in his cart. 

Arthur was at the same grocery store, right behind Adam, without realizing it. Adam turned around and said, “Hey!”

Arthur smiled. “How are you doing?”

“Great! I thought I’d never hear from you again.”

“Sorry. My best friend died.”

“What? I am so sorry!”

“Yeah, he died in a car accident. I just got back from his funeral. I’ve decided to move here. There’s nothing for me at Boston. My loved ones are gone. The only loved one I have left is you.”

“Aww.” Adam shed tears. They hugged. “You want to come over to my house tonight and meet my twin?”

“I’d love to. He’s got a huge following on social media. Your fans adore him.”

“Yes, they do, and somehow he finds time to respond to all of their comments and tweets. He tweets and his fans go crazy.”

“Just out of curiosity. Is he an artist?”

“I know he’s not a singer, but I suspect he has other talents. All right, Arthur. I’ll see you at my house tonight at seven.” A few minutes later, Adam paid for his items and left.

 

* * * 

 

A half an hour later, Adam arrived home. Pharaoh was jumping at the front door when he came in. “My sweet boy.”

Shelly, the housekeeper, took the bags from Adam’s hand and put them in the kitchen. Edward had just hired her. Adam had seen her before, but he didn’t know she was a housekeeper. “Hello. Mr. Greene sent me here. He said you need some help with your house. The last time he came over, he didn’t see any housekeepers, so he thought you were cleaning the house all by yourself.”

“I have someone that comes over every single day, to clean, two or three people, actually. However, I appreciate your help. You can help me put the groceries away. I was just gonna get spaghetti, ground meat and wine, but I wound up buying the whole store.” He laughed. “I saw different things and kept remembering what I needed. How much do you charge for your service? Do you charge daily? Monthly?”

“Mr. Greene is paying me.”

“But you’re cleaning my house. I’m the one who’s supposed to pay you.”

Putting the groceries where they belonged, Shelly said, “Well, he’s paying me.”

“I can pay you more. Not for nothing, but I have a lot more money than he does. I can give you a better salary. Just name your price and I can give you whatever you want. I can give you up to $5000a month.”

“That’s good. While you were gone, I cleaned your room and did all your laundry.”

“Thank you.”

“I fed the dog, too. He’s really sweet. He follows me everywhere now, see?” Pharaoh was right behind her.

Adam said, “Come watch TV with me, Pharaoh. Come on, boy!” Adam and Pharaoh went to the living room. While Adam was going through the program guide, he noticed that E News Daily Pop was on. He tuned in. They were talking about him, but it was good. The hosts were praising him because his fourth album was number one in the Billboard charts in its first week out.

“Congratulations to Adam Lambert! He did it again! His fourth studio album titled Confessions went straight to number one in the Billboard charts,” Brittany said.

“It is Adam’s fourth album to hit the top ten in the Billboard charts. His debut album, For Your Entertainment, went to number three, his sophomore effort Trespassing, shot straight to number one, making him the first openly-gay artist to hit number one in the Billboard charts, and the follow up, The Original High, also went to number three in its first week,” William said. “Not surprising. The man has incredible pipes.”

After a few minutes, they went back to talking about the Kardashians. Adam changed the channel. He said to Pharaoh, “Your boy hit #1 in the Billboard charts again! Yay!” He yelled, “It’s happening! All that hard work paid off!” His phone rang. It was Edward. He took the call. “This is Adam.”

“Congratulations!” Edward said, smiling. “I just heard! You are amazing!”

“My friend Arthur asked me this question and I didn’t know what to tell him. Do you have any artistic talents?”

“I can paint. I’ve made 1,500 paintings in my lifetime. They’re all at a big storage unit twenty miles away.”

“Have you published or exhibited any of them?”

“No.”

“How about we organize an event where we exhibit and sell all your paintings. That way you can get some money for your hard work. 1,500 paintings and no money? Come on, man.”

“I will think about it. I don’t know. What I paint is not normally what people like.”

“You never know. I’ve seen crazy paintings sell at huge amounts of money for something the painter thought he’d never sell.”

“OK, you got me. We will organize that event next week.”

“I’d like to buy a few of your paintings, just two or three.”

“Really?”

“Definitely. Show me your favorites and I’ll buy them. I’ll put them up on my walls and share them on my Instagram.”

The call dropped.

“Ed? Ed? Hello?” Adam put the phone down. “That’s weird.”

Ed sent a text saying, “Sorry, I dropped my phone. I just wanted to say congratulations. I’ll talk to you more tonight. Have a good day.”

 

* * * *

 

Adam was taking a nap. A filmmaker started texting him, asking him to be on his new film. He wanted Adam to be the main character. It was a horror movie. Without realizing the filmmaker sent ten texts in a row. Adam woke up because his phone kept going off. He took the phone in his hand and read all the messages. The man was explaining what the film was about and giving him a mini biography of his character. Adam wrote back saying, “When is this movie going to start filming? Tomorrow, I start promotion of the album, so this can’t be anytime soon. I must do a tour to promote my album.”

The filmmaker texted back, “We will start filming early next year.”

We were on January 2019. This meant that the film would start on January 2020. Adam texted, “OK.”

“I’ve already gotten my cast. I just needed the main character, which I wanted it to be you,” the man texted. “I postponed the filming to accommodate you, because I know you just released your new album and you need time to do concerts, promote, and do all that good stuff. We were looking for some new talent, so all my cast is composed of brand-new actors and actresses.”

Adam called the man. Since they had started a whole conversation via text, Adam figured he might as well talk to him. The man answered the phone at the first ring. “Hello, what is your name?”

“I’m Paolo Remington. It’s nice to talk to you, Adam. I thought you wouldn’t accept my proposal. Your twin brother gave me your phone number. I went on Twitter and tweeted you about the project because that was the only way I could reach you, and my tweet got retweeted 150,000 times and favorited 200,000 times. Then your brother sent me a direct message with your phone number.”

“Edward. What am I going to do to repay him for all of this? Sure, I accept your proposal. I just have to do my album stuff first. My fans have been waiting for this album for three and a half years, you know?”

“Give me your email address so I can send you the script.”

Adam texted his email address to Paolo. “I just texted it to you. I’ll go over it and text you what I think about my character. Thanks for this golden opportunity.”

“No problem. Thank you for accepting my proposal. I am your #1 fan. Bye, Adam.” Paolo hung up.

 

* * * *

Adam was at his office going over the script he’d just printed. He’d just made the spaghetti and meatballs for Edward. The food was at the table, ready to be served. Adam didn’t realize it was already seven o’clock, and Edward was knocking on the door. Pharaoh went to Adam’s office. Adam heard the door and got up. “Oh, shit.” He and Pharaoh went to the front door. Adam looked at the clock on his phone, five minutes after seven. Hoping Edward wouldn’t leave, he went and opened the door. Edward and Arthur were standing in front of him. Arthur was holding a bouquet of flowers, and smiling like an idiot. Adam laughed. No one had ever given him flowers before.


	5. Dangerous Man

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Because of a confession, Adam realizes Edward might be dangerous.

Edward and Arthur went to the dining room, served themselves some food, and sat down to eat, while Adam served himself a salad. Pharaoh and Caesar started playing in the living room, as always. Edward got up to go to the bathroom.

Arthur said, “I’m glad he left because I need to talk to you.”

“What is it? You’re scaring me.”

“It’s nothing bad. I just want to tell you that since I met you, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you. That’s why I brought you those flowers. That’s what I do when I’m in love.”

Adam smiled. “No guy had ever given me flowers before. My mom has given me flowers for my birthday, but…” He laughed again. “I feel so silly.”

“I think deep down I’ve always been in love with you.”

“Didn’t you have a girlfriend?”

“Yes, but she dumped me.”

“Have you ever had a boyfriend?”

“No.”

Edward came back to the dining room, sat down and started eating. The boys remained quiet. Edward said, after he chewed his food, “So, tomorrow, you have a performance at a morning show.”

“Good morning America, yes,” Adam said.

Edward said, “I’m going to record it in my DVR.”

Adam smiled. “Thank you.”

Someone started pounding on the door.

Edward said, “Who the fuck is that?”

A man yelled, “Open the door, Stella! I know you’re in there!” Stella was a millionaire he had a failed relationship with that lived here two years ago. She’d moved to Miami and he didn’t know it.

Edward went and opened the door. “Dude, we are having dinner peacefully here.”

The man yelled, “Stella, stop hiding!”

Edward said, “No one named Stella lives here. This is Adam Lambert’s house now.”

“Is that the little American-Idol dude?”

“Yes, it is.”

The guy left without saying another word. 

Edward went back to the table. “Should I call 911? That guy looked troubled. Now I’m worried I let him go and he’s going to kill himself.” He got up, got out of the house, and went after the guy. The guy was still in his car and he hadn’t left the house. Edward went to his car. “Are you OK?”

“No, I’m not.”

“You know, I don’t want to call 911 here because this is Adam Lambert’s house and the moment people see the ambulance and the police here, they’re going to be worried, so if you’d like me to go with you somewhere where we can call for help.”

Meanwhile, inside, Adam said, “Poor Edward. I made all this for him and he can’t even eat in peace.”

Arthur said, “I know, right?”

“I hope he got to that guy in time.”

Edward said, “I can take you to the hospital, if you want. I’m just really worried about you. I’m sorry for being rude to you when I first talked to you. I didn’t know you were having a hard time.”

“Where do you want to take me, to the nut house? No, thanks.”

“It’s not a nut house. It’s a stabilization unit. I worry that you’re going to hurt yourself if you don’t get help immediately.”

The guy started crying.

Edward put his hand on the guy’s shoulder. “What’s wrong?”

“You’re the only one who gives a fuck.”

“Come on. I’m sure I’m not. You have family and friends who love you.”

“They’re far away.”

“You just came here looking for that Stella girl? Forget about her. Go back home. Come on, let me take you to the hospital, OK?” He sent Adam a text saying, “Please put my food in the microwave for me. I’ll be right back. I’m going to take this guy to the hospital.”

Adam stopped eating his veggies for a minute, got up, and did what he was asked to do.

Edward left with the guy.

 

* * * *

 

One hour later, Edward and the guy arrived at the psychiatric unit. The guy asked for some help and now was in a voluntary hospital stay. Before leaving, Edward left him his phone number just in case he needed anything. “Don’t hesitate to call me if you need me,” Edward said.

“Thank you so much for everything.”

“I can’t stop thinking about what you would’ve done if I had just let you go. Give me your name just in case I call to know how you’re doing.”

“Caleb Ross.”

“All right, Caleb. I have to go back to my brother’s house. I’ll call shortly to see how you’re doing.” He said to the lady, “What is the patient phone number here?”

The lady said, “Caleb is going to be in Unit B. The patient number there is (324) 555-6039. Call and ask for Caleb Ross.”  
Caleb said, “Just in case they ask, my date of birth is October 26, 1990.”

Edward said, “Got it.” He’d written everything on a Microsoft Word document in his phone. He asked the lady, “When will he be allowed visits?”

The lady said, “No visits for the first twenty-four hours. You can visit him the day after tomorrow, from six o’clock in the afternoon to eight o’clock at night.”

Edward said, “I’ll be here the day after tomorrow.”

Caleb gave Edward a big hug. “Thank you. I wish you all the love and happiness in the world. You deserve everything.”

Edward smiled and shed tears at the same time. “Thanks. I’ll see you.” He left the hospital and went back to Adam’s house.

 

* * * *

 

Adam opened the door for Edward when Edward went back to his house. Edward went back to the dining room and Adam reheated his food for him and served it to him with a big glass of wine. He’d paid $500 for that bottle of wine, the best in all of LA.

Edward asked, “So, did you and Arthur hook up?” He took the first bite of his food.

“No. He’s never been with a man before.”

“But he said he was in love with you. He told me when we were waiting for you to open the door for us outside.”

“I know, but nothing’s going to happen unless he initiates activity. He has to kiss me first. I’m never the one to take the initiative because I always think what if the guy doesn’t want me? I don’t want to risk it, you know?”

“I’m the exact opposite, always the one to make the first move.”

Adam laughed. “Now I’m imagining you getting punched in the face because of it.”

“No, I’ve never gotten punched in the face for something like that. If the guy doesn’t want it, he just says no, and I stop and we go our separate ways, but no, I’ve never faced violence for that sort of thing. I have gotten my face punched in for other reasons, though.”

“Who wins when you fight?”

Edward got up just to remind Adam how big and strong he was. “Does it look like I’d lose a fight? Come on.”

“I’m a wimp. I never defend myself when dudes fight me because I don’t want to go to jail. The last time I went to jail was after my fight with my ex and I didn’t even throw punches, so you can imagine what would happen if I actually punched someone. I’m not about to ruin my career.”

“There’s something I haven’t told you. I did ten years in prison for manslaughter.”

Adam choked on his carrot.

“I was twenty-one then.”

“Who did you kill? Why?”

Edward had a flashback of the event as he narrated it. “This guy and I were fighting because he called me a cocksucker. It didn’t start with a physical fight, we were just arguing, but then it got heated, and he surprised me by throwing the first punch. I got so mad that I got up and started beating him. I had a blackout, and I beat him until he died. I didn’t realize what had happened. The next thing I knew, I was taken to the hospital, and a few days later I went to jail. I went to court and got sentenced to ten years for manslaughter, second-degree murder, or I don’t know what the hell they called it.”

”It was second-degree murder, unpremeditated. Manslaughter is usually four to five years, or less, depending on what state you live in.”

“So yeah, that’s it.” He shed tears. “To this day, I still wish he hadn’t died. I wasted ten years of my life in prison. It was supposed to be twenty years, but it was proven that I was not in my right mind at the moment it happened, and they let me go early.”

Adam held his hand. “You’re free now, and you got a second chance at life. All you have to do is not do it again.”

“I didn’t mean to kill him. I didn’t know what I was doing. I think I have a mental illness or something. That was not normal.”

“Did you ever go to the psychiatric hospital after that?”

“I never went to the hospital after that. When they made the decision I wasn’t in my right mind, they decided I’d learned my lesson and let me go home.”

“And here I was thinking I’d had it rough. Damn.”

“I remember the studio apartment you lived in before hitting it big. Mom said it was infested with roaches.”

“You really have been following my career.”

“Of course. When I was released from prison, I was told there was a guy who looked exactly like me, and I started watching your videos on YouTube. When I first heard your voice I was awestruck. I had never heard a voice like yours, only Freddie Mercury, man. You are the best singer alive.”

Adam hugged Edward. “You wanna spend the night here? You can wear my clothes. We weigh the same and are the same size.”

“I never had on a $2,000 or more shirt in my life.”

“There’s always a first time. You deserve the best.”

“Thank you for letting me spend the night at your house.”

They went to bed that night.


	6. Tragedy Strikes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Edward Greene suffers a tragedy that changed his life forever.

Edward was in his house, in his room, five days later. Greg called him. He still hadn’t given him a copy of the video. “What do you want? You still haven’t given me the video, and I already transferred the money you wanted to your account!”

“I want something more.”

“What? More money? I don’t have more money, man. What I gave you was a loan Adam made to me.”

“I don’t want money.”

“Then, what do you want?”

“You know that hot little friend of yours? I want you to convince her to sleep with me. One night with her, and I will give you the video.”

“You wanna sleep with Kathryn?”

“Yes, and I want to be with her today.”

“I can’t force anyone to do what they don’t want to, and I never have, but I’ll see what I can do, OK?” He hung up, called Kathryn and explained the situation to her.

Kathryn stunned him by saying, “Give me his address. I want to get this over with.”

“Are you sure? He’s disgusting. Even if he were the last man on the planet I’d never touch him. I thought you had better taste.”

“I do, but at the same time, I’d do anything for you. We’ve been friends for over fifteen years, and don’t forget how we met. You saved my life.”

“I always knew you loved me, but not enough to fuck a pig. All right, I’m going to text you his address. Just don’t forget to not get pregnant and to protect yourself. We don’t know who he’s been with, and the last thing we want is for you to catch an STD.”

“I’m on birth control, and I never have unprotected sex. I’ll talk to you later, Eddie. I love you.”

“I love you, too.” He hung up.

 

* * *

 

Javier Costa Polo was at the club that night. It was his first time at the club, and he’d gone alone, just to see what it was like. He’d been by himself for a long time, and tonight, the last thing he wanted was to hook up with a random dude. He was drinking whiskey. Only twenty-one, twenty-two in a few months, and he already had it made. He had a job that earned him $60,000 a year, a new car paid off with his life savings, and a brand-new iPhone. His Android phone, a Samsung Galaxy S10, some asshole had run over it with his car. Javi, as his friends affectionately called him, got up to get another drink. He wasn’t driving tonight, so it was okay. He’d arrange a trip with Uber. He never drove drunk. Then, he’d have his car towed and taken to his house. As he was walking, he bumped into someone, and he felt it was a wrestler or a burly personal trainer because this body he bumped against felt huge. He looked up. The man was impossibly tall. It was Adam Lambert, looking for a respite tonight. His best friend Alli was at his house taking care of Pharaoh.

“I’m sorry,” Javi said.

“No, I’m sorry. I wasn’t watching where I was going.” Adam smiled. “Wow, you have the most beautiful eyes I’ve ever seen!”

Javi smiled, blushed and looked down. It had been a year since a guy talked to him like that. After his breakup with Alejandro Valdez, he didn’t have the mind or the heart to hook up with anyone else. Alejandro had dumped him and stolen $10,000 from him. “Thank you. You have beautiful eyes, too. Are you Adam Lambert, or his twin, Edward Greene? You know, I’m following both of you on Instagram.”

“I’m Adam,” Adam said, still smiling like an idiot. “Edward doesn’t go to clubs. He works a lot more than he plays. So, where are you from? What’s your name?”

“Javier Costa Polo, but my friends and family call me Javi. I’m from Mallorca, Spain.”

“I’m tired. Do you want to sit with me, and we’ll talk some more?”

“I was just going to get another drink.”

“You don’t drink, do you? If you’re not used to it, I don’t recommend you getting another drink.”

“Yes, I drink. Not every day, though.”

“OK.” Adam and Javi went to the bartender. Adam said, “May I have some tequila?”

Javi said, “I want some whiskey.”

The bartender made the drinks and handed them to the gentlemen. They sat down together a few steps from the bartender’s counter. Javi took a sip of his whiskey. Adam was still looking at him directly in the eyes, smiling.

Javi said, blushing, “Would you stop staring?” He smiled. “You’re making me nervous!”

“I can’t stop staring. You’re the most beautiful man who’s ever existed.”

Still smiling, Javi said, “You are. I am your number one fan. I have all your albums and your pictures all over my walls.”

“That’s very sweet.”

“I still can’t believe I’m talking to Adam Lambert, the legend.”

Adam laughed. “Is this happening right now?”

“You bet it is. I’ve always been in love with you.”

“How old are you? I need to know.”

Javi pulled out his wallet from the back pocket of his pants and pulled out his ID card. He handed it to Adam. The birth date on it was April 18, 1997. He still looked eighteen, but Adam wanted to be sure he wasn’t doing anything illegal. He looked at the ID card very closely. From what he’d learned in the past, it was real. 

“Twenty-one, huh?”

“Twenty-two in three months.”

Adam handed him the ID card and he put it back in his wallet. “What’s your favorite album of mine?”

“I like all of them the same.”

Adam smiled. “Aww. So, what do you like to do for fun?”

“I like to go to the beach, swim in the pool…stuff like that.”

Edward went to Javi and Adam. “My friend Kathryn stood me up. Can you introduce me to your new friend?”

Javi smiled at Edward.

Adam said, “Edward, this is Javier, Javi. I just met him. Javi, this is my twin, Edward Greene.”

Javi and Edward shook hands. Javi said, “Nice to meet you, Edward.”

Edward smiled. “Likewise.”

Adam asked Edward, “Kathryn stood you up? What happened?”

“She agreed to meet me here and never showed up,” Edward said. “She won’t answer the phone, either. I’m worried about her.” Edward’s phone rang. He answered it. “This is Edward.”

Crying, Kathryn said, “It’s done.”

“Was it consensual, though? Why are you crying?”

“He was an asshole to me.”

“I’ll be right there.” He hung up. “Guys, I gotta go.” He gave Adam a hug. “Have fun, lovebugs.” He left.

Javi looked at Adam, smiling. “Lovebugs.” He laughed. “That’s a first.” He made a phone call. After saying a few words, he hung up. “That was my brother.”

“Does your brother live here with you?”

“No. He’s in Mallorca.”

“Your phone bill must be huge.”

“Not really. I have a plan that has unlimited talk and text worldwide. I pay like $300, but it’s okay because I get $60,000 a year.”

Gorgeous, independent and sweet. This guy was perfect. Adam smiled. “What did you tell your brother?”

“Oh, sorry about that. I didn’t think about that. My brother doesn’t speak English. That’s why I had to talk to him in Spanish in front of you. I told him I just met my idol, the most gorgeous and incredible man ever.”

“You are so sweet, Javi.”

Taking Adam’s hand in his, Javi replied, “And you’re incredibly beautiful.”

Adam smiled again.

 

* * *

 

Edward arrived at Greg’s house. Kathryn was sitting in the front porch with her head down. Edward took her by the hand, hugged her, and knocked on the front door. 

Greg let them in. 

Edward said, “Greg, may I use your bathroom? I have to pee really badly, and I have OAB.”

Greg said, rolling his eyes, “What the hell is that?”

Kathryn said, “Overactive bladder.” This was a lie, and Kathryn had no idea what Edward was going to do, but they’d always been partners in crime, and now she was helping him.

Greg said, “Go.”

Edward got out of the living room, and when he was about to go to the bathroom, he went to Greg’s bedroom instead and turned the room upside down, until he found a safe in Greg’s closet. He guessed the combination, opened the safe, and retrieved a recordable DVD from it. He put the DVD in his pants, reorganized the entire room, went to the bathroom with a completely empty bladder, stayed there for five minutes, and walked out of the bathroom readjusting his pants. He took Kathryn by the hand and took her to her house, leaving Greg wondering what the hell took him so long in the bathroom. He’d made a mess of water to make Greg think he hadn’t gotten to the bathroom on time and that’s why he took so long. Greg cleaned the toilet and the floor, disgusted, thinking, What a nasty pig!

Edward got home and played the DVD on his DVD player to make sure it was the right one. Sure enough, it was the porn video. He knew it was the only copy. Greg was an asshole and a misogynist, but he wasn’t a liar. He hadn’t been smart enough to make more copies of this video, and Edward knew it.

Sensing something was terribly wrong, Greg opened the safe and didn’t find his DVD in there. He screamed at the top of his lungs, “Damn you, Edward Greene! I should’ve known how good you were at cracking passwords and other codes! Shit!”

Edward called him. He answered the phone. “I took the DVD from you!”

“I’m going to call the police!”

“You can’t do anything about it. If you call the police, they won’t do anything. I’m a Greene by adoption. We’re powerful. The charges will be dropped before you even press them.”

“If you are so powerful, why haven’t you collected your inheritance from your adopted parents, you dumbass!”

“Why would I do that?”

“You fool! Your adoptive parents are dead! They died in a car accident last night, and as their only son, now, you collect all their money.”

Crying, Edward said, “How is it you found out before I did?”

“I don’t know. Maybe your aunt and your uncle hate you because you’re an asshole, and they chose not to tell you, but I am telling you so that you know I’m not as bad as you think I am!”

Edward screamed, “Fuck you!” and slammed the phone against the wall. He cried like he never had before.

 

* * *

 

Edward downloaded the Text Now app to his old Android tablet. He called Adam. Adam was in the shower. Javi was at Adam’s house. He’d just moved in with him. He answered Adam’s phone. “Adam Lambert’s phone.”

“Javi? How are you? It’s Edward.”

“Hello, Edward. Adam’s in the shower right now. I’m going to tell him to call you back.”

“I broke my own phone.”  
Javi’s smile disappeared. “What happened?”

“I just found out through my worst enemy that my parents are dead.”

“I’m so sorry.”

“Tell Adam to call me back at this number as soon as he can. Have a great night.” Edward hung up.

Adam called Edward back ten minutes later. 

Edward answered the phone. “Adam.”

“Javi told me you broke your phone. I’m going to buy you one first thing tomorrow morning. My mom called and I told her your adoptive parents died. She said she wants you to visit her.”

“I will,” Edward said, wiping his tears away. “Just give me her address.”

“I’ll text it to you. Edward, is there anything I can do for you?”

“Just don’t stab me in the back like everyone else in my life has.”

“I don’t do that, man.”

Edward hung up. He cried himself to sleep that night. He couldn’t believe his parents were gone, and he didn’t even get a chance to say goodbye.


	7. The end of a friendship

Adam went to Edward’s house the next day with the brand-new iPhone. He was still using the phone Edward had given him because it was special for him, and Adam kept people’s gifts forever, even gifts from his fans. He knocked Edward’s door. Edward was still sleeping. Caesar went into Edward’s room and woke him up by kissing him. Edward got up and went to the front door when he heard the knocks. He opened the door and gave Adam a hug. Adam handed him the new phone. Edward called T-Mobile and activated his new phone with his phone number in a matter of minutes. 

He asked Adam, “What do you want for breakfast?”

Adam said, “A strawberry smoothie.”

“Is that it?”

“Some toast with butter.”

“Now, that’s more like it. A smoothie is a drink, not breakfast.” Edward made the smoothie quickly and when he was done with that, he made the toast and put butter on the two pieces. He served Adam his breakfast, and as Adam ate, he sat beside him in the dining room. “How are things going with Javi? Are you boyfriends yet?”

“Yes, but no one knows, just the two of us, and now you.”

Edward smiled. “What’s he like?”

“He’s so sweet and so wonderful in every way. I think I finally found love again, bro.”

He hugged him. “That’s great. I wish you the best.”

“What about you? Have you met anyone special yet?”

“With my revenge scheme against Justin, the chances of meeting someone special and falling in love are slim to none. One thing you don’t know about me is I never sleep with two guys at the same time. I think it’s kinda nasty. I mean to the people that do it, to each their own, but I just don’t—that’s not my thing.”

“I understand. That’s one thing you and I have in common. I like your long hair. I wonder if it would look good on me.”

Edward laughed. “Of course, it would. We’re identical twins. The only way to tell us apart is by looking at our tattoos. We don’t even have birthmarks to tell us apart.”

“I want to try it.”

“Go ahead. Let your hair grow. It’ll look great. You never look bad.”

“I say the same thing about you. Thanks, that’s the best compliment I’ve gotten from a man in a long time, well, besides the compliments Javi gives me. He calls me beautiful and sweetness.”

“You’re right. He is sweet.”  
Caesar was lying down next to Adam. He liked his perfume.

“When I left, he was playing with Pharaoh. He and Pharaoh clicked right away. I was surprised.”

“Javi is special. He radiates love.” Edward’s phone rang. He answered it. “Edward Greene.”

Kathryn said, “I just took the morning after pill. He forced me to do it without a condom. He said if I used the condom, he wouldn’t give you the video. He also made me take off my contraceptive device.”

“He wanted to get you pregnant? Is that it?”

“Yep, but I am smarter than he is.”

“So am I. I stole the video from him.”

“You’re amazing!”

“My brother Adam is here. You want to come meet him in person?”

“I don’t know. I found out his new boyfriend is fifteen years younger than him, and I don’t agree with that.”

“Come on, Kathryn. That has nothing to do with anything.”

“You know I’m conservative, Edward. I only accept you because you’ve been my friend for a long time, but I don’t like gays, either.”

Shedding tears, Edward said, “Wow. I never knew that about you. Bye, Kathryn.”

“What did she say?” Adam asked.

“My best friend of fifteen years is homophobic.”

“Come on. You don’t need people like that. Don’t cry,” Adam said, hugging him again. “You’ve been through more than enough.”

 

* * *

Javi was in Adam’s living room, watching TV with Pharaoh. His phone rang. He answered it. “This is Javi.”

Adam said, “Hey, baby. I just wanted to let you know I’m on my way home.”

“Pharaoh has been with me since you left. He loves me. I don’t know what I did to deserve it, but that’s the way it is.”

“You are so sweet. You shouldn’t be surprised. You were so nice to Pharaoh when you met him, and now, you’re his best friend.”  
“Baby, can you get me some chips and dip? I’ll pay you back when you get here.”

“Aww, you don’t have to pay me back. You’re my boyfriend, so you can ask me for anything you want.”

“I like regular Tostitos and queso-blanco dip.”

“Got it. I’ll see you soon.” Adam cut the call.

Adam went to the nearest grocery store and bought Javi’s chips and dip. He paid for his items, gave the cashier his autograph, and left the store. He got home a few minutes later, went in, and placed the items on the counter. Javi took everything to the living room and sat back down with Pharaoh. He popped open the bag of chips and the jar of dip, dipped his first chip, and ate it. Pharaoh smelled the dip, it burned his nose, and he got off the sofa to clean himself up. When he did that, he lied back down with Javi.

Adam said, “Pharaoh can’t stand spicy-food smells.”

Laughing, Javi said, “I see that. I walked him and fed him.”

“You do a great job taking care of him.”

“I’ve always wanted a dog.”

Adam sat on the sofa beside him and Pharaoh got on his lap and fell asleep.

 

* * * 

 

Edward was at his house, eating some Doritos and watching TV. Someone rang his bell. He got up and opened the door. It was Kathryn. He let her in. “What do you want?”

“I don’t want to lose you.”

“You already have. I can’t be friends with someone who doesn’t accept who I am.”

“Edward, please, you’ve been with me during my hardest times.” She was shedding tears.

“You should’ve thought about that before you told me you hated gay people.”

There was another knock on the door. Kathryn stayed put, and Edward opened the door. It was Justin. “Oh, great, two people I hate came to visit me! Can my day get any better? Jesus Christ.”

Justin said, “I don’t know why you hate me. I’ve never done anything wrong to you.”

Edward said, “No, but you and Miss Kathryn here are two homophobic pieces of shit.”

Kathryn said, “Come on, Edward. You have got to respect other people’s beliefs.”

 

“I’m not going to hang out with two people that hate me! Is that so hard to understand? I need you guys to get out of my house, now!”

Justin grabbed him and kissed him in a desperate attempt to get through to him. He really wanted to be his friend because he knew that now he was a millionaire. Something he thought was the most disgusting thing in the world, but he had to stoop this low to get what he wanted: money.

Edward pushed him away. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

“I love you, Edward. I want to be with you.”

“But you’re not gay. I’m not hooking up with a straight man!”

Justin shrugged. “I don’t know what I am. I just know that ever since I met you, I can’t stop thinking about you. You’re driving me crazy, man.”

Kathryn gasped.

“I don’t know what sick game you’re playing, but it ends now,” Edward said. “I don’t believe in love at first sight. That’s bullshit! Now, get out!”

Justin grabbed him again and kissed him, this time much more passionately. He imagined he was kissing a woman instead. Edward couldn’t resist him, put his arms around him, and they kissed for a good ten minutes.

“You made your point. Kathryn, I’m sorry, but if you want to be my friend, you are going to have to accept me and my loved ones. There’s no other way around it. Go home and think about it. I don’t want to look at you right now.”

She opened the door and walked out.

Adam went back to Edward’s house with Javi. Justin was taking a shower and his clothes were in the dryer. He hadn’t showered today, and he didn’t feel comfortable. Adam and Javi went in and gave Edward a hug. 

They sat down in the living room. Adam asked, “What’s up?”

Edward said, “I have a problem.”

Adam said, “Tell me about it. Maybe I can help you.”

Edward said, “Justin hit on me.”

Adam asked, “Wasn’t he straight?”

Javi said, “That doesn’t make sense. A straight person would never kiss someone of their same sex, unless they wanted a million dollars.”

Edward smiled. “You made a point! That is so smart!”

Javi shrugged.

Edward said, “Of course! That’s what he wants! Money!”

Adam said, “My advice is to play him. Give him what he wants. Give him lots and lots of money. When you get tired of him, break up with him, and expose him. His parents will disown him. His mother would be heartbroken.”

Edward said, “Yes. That is exactly what I’m going to do. I’m sorry for this, guys, but I must kick you out. I want to get some alone time with Justin. You can come back when I’m done with him.”

Javi got up from the sofa. “Aww, you’re kicking us out?” He laughed.

Edward said, “Sorry, but I don’t want Justin to see you here.”

Adam got up. “We understand. We’re coming back.”

Edward said, “Bring Pharaoh.”

Javi said, “We will.”

Edward walked them to the door, and they left. As soon as Edward closed the door behind him, Justin appeared in the living room, dressed. “Did you have a good shower?”

Justin smiled. “Yes, but I would’ve loved it a lot more if we had showered together.”

“What are you trying to do?”

“Nothing. I’m in love with you.”

“Didn’t you say gay people were disgusting?”

“That’s how I felt until I met you. You are the most beautiful man ever.”

“Prove what you’re saying. Sleep with me.”

Edward and Justin went into Edward’s room and kissed for the next two hours. Justin had never had such a long kiss.

Edward said, “I understand you’re afraid. You’ve never been with a man before, but we won’t do anything you don’t want to do.”

Justin got off the bed. “I’m sorry. It’s just…”

“I understand. You can go home today, and whenever you’re ready you can come back.”

“I need to prepare myself for this. I mean a kiss is just a kiss. I’ve kissed many times before, so to me it’s no big deal. The problem is the other stuff.”

Edward got up. “I’ve never forced a man to do what he doesn’t want to do, and I’m not about to start now. We can continue this later.”

“You’re not angry?”

“About what?”

“I left this unfinished. You know how that feels. I know my kisses turned you on, and now, to leave you like that—”

“It’s no big deal. It’s not like I haven’t been rejected before.”

“Don’t misunderstand. I’m not rejecting you.”

“I’m not talking about you. I’m talking about the many men who did.”

“I’m not saying no. I’m just saying later, OK?”

“OK.”

Justin left Edward’s house. He got in his car, left, and when he was ten miles away and on his way to his mother’s house, he started crying like he never had before. He’d never had to do such a disgusting and degrading thing for money. In order to get what he wanted he’d have to become Edward Greene’s boyfriend. He had to do things he never thought he would, but that’s how badly he needed money. He was about to lose his house and his car, and he had no money for clothes. He knew he wouldn’t get anything from Edward unless they slept together. He really was in a rut. He had no choice but to go back to Edward’s house and seduce him.


	8. First Times

Justin arrived at Edward’s house once again. Adam and Javi were there, and they were having a little party with hot dogs and hamburgers, potato chips, soda, and candy. Adam and Javi never usually ate these foods, but now, they were trying it, after a long time, for Edward, because they would never turn down Edward’s food.

Javi didn’t even remember the taste of a hot dog, so when he took his first bite, it wasn’t so bad. Adam ate his hamburger with a serious face, thankful that it didn’t have any fat in it because Edward’s grill had gotten it all. 

Justin knocked on the door. Caesar and Pharaoh started barking like crazy, and they went to the door, wagging their tails. Edward went to the front door eating his hamburger. He opened the door and greeted Justin with a kiss on the lips. Justin went in. Caesar and Pharaoh got out of the living room and went to play in one of Edward’s guest rooms to stay away from Justin. “Your dogs don’t like me.”

“They’ll get over it,” Edward said. “Dogs are not rancorous. Cats are. Cats don’t like me, and I’m allergic to them. That’s why I always preferred dogs.”

They went to the back porch, where Adam and Javi were eating. Javi was already on his second, but last hotdog. Damn Edward was a good cook! What did he put in these things that made them taste so delicious?

Adam and Justin shook hands. Adam said, “How are you doing, man?”

Justin asked, “You’re not mad at me?”

Javi asked, “Why would he be mad at you? What did you do?”

Edward sent him a text that simply said, He kicked Pharaoh when he first met Adam.

Javi said, “Oh, hell no,” and went inside.

Adam replied, “You’re Edward’s boyfriend, so we have to do our best to get along, don’t you think?”

Nervous, Justin said, “I guess so. Hey, did I do something to your boyfriend?”

Adam said, “No. Someone must’ve told him something bad over text. Don’t worry about it. If you want, I will talk to him.”

Justin asked, “How old is he?”

Adam said, “Twenty-one.”

Justin said, “Oh, OK. I was asking because he looks fifteen.”

Edward said, “Adam would never date a fifteen-year-old but thank you. I guess we take that as a compliment.”

Adam said, “Yes, I do. That was really nice of you to say.”  
Javi was playing with Caesar and Pharaoh in the red guest room. He was petting Caesar’s head and rubbing Pharaoh’s belly. Pharaoh looked at him with all his love. This felt like heaven. 

Javi’s phone rang. He answered it. “Hello.”

“Javier Costa Polo?” Kathryn said, with a voice distorter.

“Who are you? How did you get my number?”

“Your boyfriend is cheating on you with a guy named Arthur.” She hung up and laughed hysterically.

Javi went back outside, took Adam by the hand, and took him inside.

Adam asked, “Something wrong, babe?”

With his hands crossed across his chest, Javi asked, “Who’s Arthur?”

“A guy I’ve seen like two or three times. All we’ve done is say hi to each other. Why?”

“Someone just called me telling me you’re cheating on me with him.”

Edward went inside. “Is something wrong?”

Adam said, “Yes, Javi and I just started dating, and there’s already someone talking shit to him about me.”

Javi asked, “Do you have Arthur’s phone number, Adam?”

“No, because we don’t talk. I had it in my other phone, and my phone fell into the kitchen sink filled with water and soap.”

Edward called Kathryn. He knew she liked making prank calls, and it couldn’t have been anyone else that called Javi because no one had Javi’s number. Kathryn must’ve gotten the number from Edward’s phone. 

Kathryn took the call. “Hello.”

“You better leave my brother and his boyfriend alone.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Stop the bullshit!”

“All right, Edward. I should’ve known you’d figure it out because you know me better than anyone. Yes, I called Javi Costa Polo to talk shit to him about your brother because I wanted to ruin their relationship, OK?”

Edward went inside and handed the phone to Javi. Javi rolled his eyes in confusion. “She wants to talk to you.”

“This is Javi.”

Adam kept shaking his head.

“It was me that called you, Kathryn Barnes. It was all a lie. I’m sorry. I don’t know shit about Adam Lambert. All I know about him is his little ‘Whataya Want from Me’ song. OK? Now leave me alone. I don’t want anything to do with you guys ever again.” She hung up.

Javi handed the phone to Edward and gave Adam the biggest hug ever.

Relieved, Adam said, “I’m not a cheater baby, and I’d never do something that would lead to losing you. You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me.” He gave him a kiss on the lips.

Edward brought in two sodas, a Sprite and a Coke. Javi took the Coke and Adam took the Sprite. “So, I take it you worked it out.”

Javi nodded.

Arthur called Adam at his new number. Kathryn had given it to him. Kathryn had stolen all these numbers from Edward’s phone. 

Adam took the call. “Hello.”

Arthur said, “How are you?”

Adam hung up. He didn’t want Arthur to cause any more problems.

Arthur texted him. “What did I do wrong?”

Adam blocked the number.

Javi asked, “Who was that?”

Adam said, not wanting to lie to his beloved, “Arthur. I don’t know how he got my number, baby. I swear.”

“That bitch Kathryn must’ve given it to him. I haven’t met her, and I already abhor her. Such a heinous bitch, messing with me. I don’t do anything wrong to anybody. I don’t understand it.”

Edward said, “It wouldn’t surprise me. She stole my Apple ID, and now she has all my numbers. I need to change my password on my Apple ID.”

Adam said, “Unbelievable. She has a falling out with you, and all of us have to pay the consequences. I hate people sometimes.”

Javi said, “She can go eat shit and die.”

Edward said, “All right, all right…let’s not let that bitch ruin our day. What do you guys want to do, watch a movie?”

Adam said, “That sounds good.”

Edward said, “I have a whole collection, over 1,000 DVD’s and Blu-Rays, all genres.”

Javi said, “I want to watch a romantic comedy.”

Edward said, “What about ‘Crazy. Stupid. Love?’ Do you like that one?”

Javi said, “I’ve never seen it, but it sounds good.”

Edward put the DVD in the DVD player and pressed the play button. He went to the kitchen and made two big bags of popcorn, enough for him, Adam and Javi to eat. Justin went to the living room, but instead of sitting in the sofa with Adam and Javi, he sat on the loveseat. Edward asked Justin, “Babe, do you want some popcorn?”

Justin asked, “Do you have small bags, like for one person?”

Edward said, “I have big bags and small bags. I’ll make you a small bag.” He made a small bag of popcorn for Justin.

Edward took all the popcorn to the living room. He set it on the coffee table, went back to the kitchen, got a couple of glasses, filled them with ice, and took a whole two-liter bottle of Pepsi to the living room. 

Javi picked up a kernel of popcorn and put it in his mouth. It was incredibly buttery. “Mmm. We should come here more often.”

Edward said, “I would love to have you here, at least on the weekend. You guys are so fun to be around.”

Smiling, Javi said, “We feel the same thing about you.”

Arthur knocked on the door. Kathryn had told him Adam and Javi were at Edward’s house. Since he hadn’t done anything wrong, he insisted in talking to Adam. Edward got up from the loveseat, went to the front door, and opened it. “Is Adam here?” Arthur asked.

Javi heard a strange voice asking about Adam. He got up and when he was about to the front door, Adam got up and took his hand in his. 

Adam said, “Baby, I don’t want him to know I’m here. Ed already told him I’m not here. It wouldn’t make sense for you to be here with my brother and for me to be nowhere in sight.”

Shedding tears, Javi said, “You are my man. I don’t want you talking to this Arthur dude.”

Adam said, “I won’t talk to him. I will avoid him until he gets tired of it and leaves me alone. I promise.”

Javi sat beside Adam and held him tight. He kissed his cheek, and he and Adam kissed. They heard Edward say, “I told you, Kathryn lied. Adam and Javi are not here. They’re not home, either. They went to Spain to spend the weekend with Javi’s family. Get lost.” 

Edward slammed the door and went back to the living room. The guys remained silent for a good ten minutes waiting for Arthur to go away. Arthur didn’t understand why he couldn’t talk to Adam. He knew Adam had a boyfriend, and he’d never been the third wheel in anybody’s relationship.

 

* * *

 

Adam and Javi were back home, taking showers separately. They hadn’t been intimate yet, and hadn’t gone beyond several passionate kisses. They wanted to smell good and look good for each other. They were getting ready for a night of romance.

Adam selected a white robe, put it on, went to the kitchen, and grabbed a pack of strawberries from the fridge. He went to the living room, turned on the TV, and browsed the program guide. He found a horror movie, an old film, Wishmaster 4: The Prophecy Fulfilled, because Adam wanted to scare Javi a little so that Javi could hold him. Javi came out of the shower wearing a robe. 

Javi said, “I love watching horror movies with the love of my life.” He smiled. “What are the strawberries for?”

He went back and got the whipped cream out of the fridge and replied, “You and I are going to have some fun!”

“Ooh, I like that!”

They sat down on the sofa. The movie started, and they started eating the strawberries. Javi fed Adam a strawberry. This was the sweetest strawberry Adam had ever tasted. They kissed, and then Adam fed Javi a strawberry. Pharaoh jumped up on Javi’s lap. Javi petted him and started rubbing his belly again.

Adam said, “Pharaoh will adore you if you keep doing that! I swear, you spoil him rotten, even more than I do.”

Javi laughed. “I love Pharaoh. Of course, I want to spoil him. He deserves it, right, Pharaoh?”

Pharaoh looked right at him, and he looked like he was smiling. Javi took a picture of him with his phone. “Beautiful.”

After their first time together, Javi and Adam slept in the most comfortable and inviting bed for the rest of the night. Javi had never been more relaxed.

 

* * *

 

Justin and Edward had also made love that night. Justin was lying down on his left side opposite Edward, shedding thick tears, eyes reddened. He had never experienced so much physical pain. He didn’t know how people could engage in anal sex and enjoy it. He didn’t want to go through this again, but he had to make sacrifices in order to get what he wanted.

Edward turned around, put his arms around him, and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “Hey. How do you feel? How was I?”

He tried to hide his broken voice. “You were great.”

Edward had him turn around. “You’ve been crying?” No man had ever cried after having sex with him.

“You need to understand it was my first time.”

“Oh, so that’s why you’re crying.”

“Yes. It’s not like you were cruel to me. No matter how gentle you had been it still would’ve hurt. Just let me get used to it.”

“I thought I’d been an asshole to you.”

“Not at all. You’re going to get mad at me, though?”

“Why?”

“I need to ask you for some money.”

“I haven’t collected my inheritance yet. Arrangements won’t be made until tomorrow.”

“I just need a few thousand dollars to pay my mortgage and my car. I’m two months behind on my mortgage, and they’re about to kick me out. They gave me one last chance to pay. Deadline is February first.”

“Oh, if it’s just that, I can give it to you. Tell me exactly how much money you need.”

“$6,500; $4,000 to get my mortgage caught up, and $2500 that I’m behind on my car payments. They’re going to take my car away on Tuesday.”

Edward didn’t write a check. He just got a stash of cash, counted it slowly to make sure the amount was correct, and put it in an envelope. These were his life savings, and he always hid them under his bed in a shoebox because no one had ever robbed him before. He handed the envelope to Justin.

Justin asked, “How long do I have to pay you back?”

“I’m going to collect my inheritance this week, and it’s well over $400 million, so don’t worry about that.”

Justin gasped. “$400 million?”

“Yes. My parents were super rich, but I never lived off their money. When I turned eighteen, I moved out of the mansion and got my own job, started making great income—until I went to prison. When I was released from prison, I got my life back. I was the manager of an Office Depot store until my father’s best friend made me CEO of his company. Since then I’ve been earning a lot of money, but now, I don’t have to worry about money for the rest of my life.”

A few minutes later, Justin left Edward’s house. He couldn’t stop crying because it was painful even to sit in his car to drive. He couldn’t tell Edward, though, thus Edward would get the idea that what happened between them was not consensual. But it was. It was Justin who had gone to his house and seduced him. It was all on him. It wasn’t Edward’s fault.


End file.
